Next Week’s Tape: Earnings Hit Parade Revs Up

The goods-production side of the U.S. economy will be the focus of next week’s data as construction, manufacturing and other industrial activity will be reported.

The other big trend will be earnings. Next week and the week after are the two heaviest weeks for earnings reports; the bulk of S&P 500 companies and Dow components will be reporting. When those weeks are done, we’ll have a strong idea of how strong or weak the first quarter really was.

The factory reports will start with Monday’s Empire State survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The top-line business index is expected to slow to 17.5 in April, from 20.21 in March.

Another reading on April manufacturing will come Thursday with the Philadelphia Fed survey. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires is that this region’s business index will ease down to 11.7 this month from 12.5 in March.

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